PlayOLG casino canada

If you live in Ontario, you’ve heard or OLG, or the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. They run all the casinos in the area, a government run monopoly on gaming that has seen it fair share of both praise and controversy. However, if you live in Ontario and you want to play casino games in a brick-and-mortar location, you don’t have another option. You have to play at an OLG casino (unless you know of some illegal place underground, but that’s neither here nor there). With that being said, that limitation does not extend to playing online. Here are the pros and cons of playing at the online casino PlayOLG.

Pro: It’s Regulated by the Province of Ontario

Not only is it regulated by a Canadian province, it’s also the only online casino regulated by the Ontario government. While Malta and the UK and two of the most respected and trusted licensing bodies in online gaming, it is a lot easier to imagine that your home country will be looking out for you best interests more so than a foreign licensing body.

Con: No Sports Betting, Poker, or Bingo

PlayOLG is only casino games and the lottery, where it’s the player versus the casino and nothing else. That means no betting on sports, no playing multiplayer Poker or other skills-based games, and no Bingo. You can bet on horse racing, which is pretty close to sports betting. Also, there are plans for these three betting outlets to become available. When they are, PlayOLG will be one of the most versatile places to place bets. Until then, sports, Poker, and Bingo betting online will require oversea registration.

Pro: Responsible Gambling Initiative

It is a near guarantee that PlayOLG will keep a closer eye and take more serious a threat of problem gambling among their players than any place you can play online. The pressure of public interest will always be stronger on the home front. While you may feel that you are at no risk for developing a gambling problem, it has happened to people who felt the same way. Either way, it’s just good to know they are looking out for you, at least at a level a bit larger than their overseas counterparts.

Con: There Are Better Options

Especially when you consider the fact that many online casino outlets available to Canadian players offer casino games as well as Poker, Bingo, and Sports. There are better online casinos out there. However, considering the fact that PlayOLG’s Return to Player (RTP) is 96% for their Slots — an excitingly high percentage — and that they are planning on adding those betting options, make this online casino still a great choice.

Con: It’s a Monopoly

If you have a monopoly on an industry, it means that there can’t be any competition. The biggest issue I have with that is: what makes playing online so lucrative is that online casinos have to compete against hundreds of other options, so the RTP and promotions are getting higher and higher. If there’s only one option, they dictate both of those things.

Pro: Money Goes Back Into Community

If you believe that buying locally is important, and stimulating your local economy is important to you, then the idea that all the money you bet and lose goes back into your community can be an attractive offer. If you play at an overseas casino, none of that money is injected back into your local economy unless you win the money and buy things locally.

Cons: Can’t Use Winner’s Circle Rewards

All those points you’ve earned at the land-based casinos do not transfer over to the online casino, and there are, as they put it, no plans in the immediate plans to add this option. That can be pretty frustrating, as it’s the same gambling body, so it would make sense for the points to transfer over.

Cons: You Have to Be In Ontario

If you do not live in Ontario, you cannot register and play at PlayOLG. However, this is not a con if you live in Ontario, just if you live in any other province or country. You also have to register even if you are just trying to play the free games and not trying to bet with real money, which is a bit odd.

Pros: Awesome Bonuses

What’s kind of staggering considering the fact that PlayOLG is a monopoly is that their promotions are pretty incredible. (Their RTP, at least right now, is high too.) They have a $10 no-deposit bonus, and they offer deposit-matching welcome bonuses of up to $300 and $400. They also have Slots tournaments, which can always be very lucrative, and they have a birthday bonus when it’s your special day!